Teachers are some of those most important members of our society. A teacher’s life is hectic, from being the earliest birds awake every morning to being the last to sleep at night, they’re constantly juggling work and home life.

It’s a known fact that teaching is a noble yet taxing vocation, and is rightly given the respect it deserves by today’s society. Teachers are an important part of the workforce, and there’s no denying the physical and mental demands of this profession, which often puts them at risk of serious health complications.

Due to their fast-paced schedule, teachers hardly have any time to think about themselves, much less sort through the sometimes-conflicting claims about the nutritional value of various meals in order to ‘eat healthy’. Especially since snacking on convenience foods is a much simpler option (no matter what most packaging claims say).

I’m sure each one of us can admit that at least once in our lives we’ve all been mean to one of our teachers. From sticking nasty gum to their chairs to purposely disturbing them during their lectures, to reducing them to tears with our atrocious behaviour, we’ve left no stone unturned to make their lives miserable.
But despite all the odds, these loving souls put their best foot forward (something we didn’t quite value back then) to educate, enlighten and train us for every hurdle that life would throw at us, both big and small.

The most frequently-reported health complaints among teachers are lower back pain, tiredness, leg pain, voice disorder, headache, neck pain, anxiety, shoulder pain, varicose veins of lower limbs and sleep problems.

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Dark and gloomy, grey skies and the occasional rumble of thunder signal the start of the much-awaited monsoon season. The monsoons always bring refreshing rain and much-needed relief from the sweltering summer. However, along with it also comes a spectrum of health woes from seasonal colds, flu, and typhoid to malaria, dengue and stomach infections, thus distressing one’s overall health.

A lowered immune system is one of the main reasons for common monsoon-related diseases, thus we need to ensure that the food we eat strikes a balance between nutrition and immunity.

Ancient ayurvedic practices state that in order to stay healthy throughout the year, one must follow the Ritucharya.

What is Ritucharya?

Ritucharya is comprised of two words: Ritu (season) and Charya (regimen or discipline).

As per Ayurveda, Varsha Ritu (rainy season) falls in the month of Shravan and Bhadrapada (mid-July to mid-September). When the sun sets, the heat that’s stored in the Earth is released as rain. During this season, almost all the doshas go out of balance and that is why Ayurveda strongly recommends seasonal purification.

According to Ayurveda, a person’s health is based on their doshas — a balance of the five elements of the world, i.e., air (vayu), space (akash), water (jala), earth (prithvi) and fire (teja). A combination of each element results in three doshas known as vata, kapha and pitta. These doshas are said to command a person’s physical, mental and emotional well-being.

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We are eagerly waiting for the Covid-19 episode to get over and return to normalcy. Or is this going to be the new normal? Coronavirus, in one way or the other, is entwined with the element of air. Now masked noses are the most common sights covering up some hidden airborne insights.

Be free of prejudices and biases, as the air.

The air does not know what prejudice is. It is least bothered about the size, the shape, the colour of the noses. It respects all varieties of noses. It happily journeys inside every type of nose, male and female alike, belonging to a Hindu, a Muslim, a Sikh, a Tribal or a Christian nose. For the air, a nose is a nose is a nose. And the air it sends to every nose is fresh and pure. It has been like that from the time air was. It behaves like God who too transcends all religions. You shouldn’t be surprised to know that such a freeing and all-embracing attitude will enhance the quality of your immunity to fight viruses.

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Body knows only to do what is good for the body.
Mind knows only to do what is good for the mind.
However, what mind considers as good is most often not good for the body.

The mind is the culprit for practically almost all diseases, other than those that come from food, water and air. External causes amount to only about 10 per cent of all diseases. The Coronavirus is an outside invader.

Make it hard for the ‘invader’ to conquer your internal defence system

Do whatever you can to stay mentally calm. If you are looking for bodily healing, reduce your mental speed to 8-12 cycles per second, known as ‘alpha pace’. (Meditations are the best I know so far to achieve that speed.) So, the mind will stop interfering with bodily intelligence. The body becomes free to activate the self-healing system that is inbuilt into our biological system. Healing is a passive activity; we do not actively heal anyone or ourselves. Healing happens. It is done to us without even asking for it. That’s the way our bodies are wired.

4 techniques to strengthen your immune system

1. Activating the pituitary gland
Pay attention to the ‘master gland’ known as the pituitary gland, fitted in the brain. Since you have no way of getting inside your brain, you can do a simple and easy exercise to activate both the pituitary and pineal glands. How? In the illustration, the portion of the thumb marked in red connects to your brain. Whatever you do there affects the brain.

a. Keep pressing the left thumb with the right thumb and the index finger of the right hand, holding it to the right and left side of the left thumb. Keep on pressing it hard for 60 seconds; keep a mental count of one to sixty. Then do the same with the right thumb with the left thumb and the index finger for 60 seconds.

b. Hold both the thumbs together facing each other; use the index and midfingers, let us say first of the right hand and press with them the back of the left thumb hard for 60 seconds while the right thumb is pressing the front portion of the left thumb (the frontal lobe of the brain). Exchange the hands; give the right thumb a chance now; another 60 seconds.

While doing this you are activating both the pituitary and pineal glands and the entire brain. The master gland wakes up all others (particularly the Thymus gland) into action for self-protection and they get ready to fight the aggressor. (2 minutes)

2. Activating the thymus gland
You can see the thymus gland in the picture. Use your index, mid and ring fingertips together to tap/thump the left and the right side of thymus gland 1 minute each, three times a day. Thymosin, produced by the thymus gland, will start fighting antibodies and strengthen the immune system. This is the most important gland to fight viruses. (2 minutes)

3. Prana Mudra (Energy-enhancing hand gesture)
This is a gesture recommended by the Mudra Shastra (science of hand gestures) to enhance our immune system, to activate vital energy and fight allergies. You do not have to press the fingers together; they need to be in touch with each other. You may hold this position, the way you see it in the illustration, for 45 minutes, if possible. You can keep holding them while watching a movie or while having a stroll, etc. The three fingers bring together three elemental energies of fire, earth and water together.

4. Pranayama (Science of breathing)
One of the sad life-realities is that very few of us breathe properly; once again the culprit is the mind. We need to breathe in the way the lungs were originally designed for. Whatever the method you have learnt; do it for 15-20 minutes, twice a day. The more oxygen you supply to your lungs, the merrier they will be! With poor lung capacity, you are prone to asthma, allergies, pneumonia, etc. Breathe well and you will be well.

If you are interested, you may check out the videos on the YouTube channel of Dhyan Kutir, Andheri (E), Mumbai, showing two different types of breathing and some simple exercises to rid yourself of negative energy.

The Coronavirus is inviting us to take quality time for ourselves. Remain calm. Keep on blessing the universe; allow blessings to flow towards you and into you!

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